Application of dynamic profiles to the allocation and configuration of network resources

ABSTRACT

A service request is received and associated with a subscriber id. Profile information is accessed for the source of the service request. A copy of the profile information is stored in a network element employed by the source of the service request to access the network.

PRIORITY CLAIM

Priority is claimed to the United States provisional application forpatent entitled APPLICATION OF DYNAMIC PROFILES TO THE ALLOCATION ANDCONFIGURATION OF NETWORK RESOURCES, having application No. 60/446129,filed on Feb. 10, 2003.

FIELD

The invention relates to communications, and, more particularly, tocommunication via a network.

BACKGROUND

Wireless telephones are popular, ubiquitous devices. It is now possibleto make and receive phone calls from almost any place in the world.Communication is even possible from remote and undeveloped areas usingwireless satellite telephones. Herein, the term wireless telephonerefers to any device capable of transmitting and receiving voice and/ordata (non-voice) information to and from a network without the use ofwires, cables, or other tangible transmission media. So-called cellulartelephones are a common example of wireless phones.

Wireless telephones and the networks by which they communicate operateaccording to various technologies, including analog mobile phone service(AMPS), circuit switching, packet switching, wireless local area network(WLAN) protocols, code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM),spread-spectrum, global system for mobile communications (GSM),high-speed circuit-switched data (HCSD), general packet radio system(GPRS), enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE), and universal mobiletelecommunications service (UMTS). Of course, these are only examples,and other technologies may be employed in wireless communication aswell.

Herein, the term ‘wireless device’ is meant to include wirelesstelephones (including cellular, mobile, and satellite telephones), andalso to include a variety of other wireless devices, including wirelessweb-access telephones, automobile, laptop, and desktop computers thatcommunicate wirelessly, and wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs).In general, the term ‘wireless device’ refers to any device withwireless communication capabilities.

Many companies produce wireless telephones and other wireless devices.Among the more well-known producers are Nokia®, Ericsson®, Motorola®,Panasonic®, Palm® Computer, and Handspring®. A variety of producers alsoprovide wireless devices comprising versions of the Microsoft® Windows®operating software.

Third generation (3G) wireless devices provide high-bandwidth wirelessaccess to communication networks. With such devices it may be possibleto provide services to wireless devices such as streaming video,multimedia messaging, and so forth. Users of the network may, atdifferent times, employ different devices to access the network. Thequality and availability of services may vary according to thecapabilities of the device employed for access (terminal device), theaccess device's present operating environment, and other dynamicparameters. The greater variety of services and terminal devicespresents a challenge for allocating and managing network resources.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method includes accessing profile information of asubscriber to identify services to which the subscriber has access,verifying that the subscriber is authorized to access a requestedservice, comparing requirements for delivering the service withavailable network resources, and, when sufficient network resources areavailable to deliver the service, allocating network resources inaccordance with the requirements for delivering the service.

In another embodiment, a network includes an HLR comprising profileinformation for subscribers of the network, and an MSC comprising logicto access the profile information upon receiving a service request, andto identify a subscriber that is the source of the service request, andto access the profile information to verify that the subscriber isauthorized to receive a requested service, and to access from the HLR aservice profile for the requested service and to allocate networkresources according to the service profile to deliver the service to aterminal of the subscriber.

In another embodiment, a method includes detecting an error condition ona terminal device, accessing terminal information for the terminaldevice, and applying the terminal information to remove the errorcondition.

In another embodiment, a method includes receiving a service request,associating a subscriber id with the service request, accessing profileinformation for the source of the service request, and allocatingnetwork resources according to profile information for the source of theservice request and profile information of the service requested.

In another embodiment, a network element includes a router to routecommunications in a communication network, and logic access a serviceprofile in response to a service request and to allocate networkresources to fulfill the service request according to servicerequirements of the service profile.

FIGURES

The invention may be better understood with reference to the followingfigures in light of the accompanying description. The present invention,however, is limited only by the scope of the claims at the concludingportion of the specification.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a communication network.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a communication network.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of profile information.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method to respond to aservice request.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method to access profileinformation.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method to respond to aservice request.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a communication network.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an embodiment of profile informationdistributed in a wireless communication network.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method to respond to aservice request.

DESCRIPTION

In the following description, references to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, althoughthey may. In the figures, like numbers refer to like elements.

Herein, “logic” refers to any information having the form of instructionsignals and/or data that may be applied to affect the operation of aprocessing device. Examples of processing devices are computerprocessors (processing units), microprocessors, digital signalprocessors, controllers and microcontrollers, and so on. Logic may beformed from signals stored in a device memory. Software is one exampleof such logic. Examples of device memories that may comprise logicinclude RAM (random access memory), flash memories, ROMS (read-onlymemories), EPROMS (erasable programmable read-only memories), andEEPROMS. Logic may also be comprised by digital and/or analog hardwarecircuits, for example, hardware circuits comprising logical AND, OR,XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations. Logic may be formed fromcombinations of software and hardware.

“Terminal device” refers to any device employed by a user (typically aperson but also possibly an autonomous or semi-autonomous device system)to access the network environment.

“User” refers to any person (or, conceivably, autonomous orsemi-autonomous logic) with access privileges to the network. Typicallythe user is the operator of a terminal device, although a user couldalso be the operator of a device or devices that provide services viathe network.

A “subscriber” represents one or more persons or entities (corporations,partnerships, agents, operators, etc.) with access privileges to thenetwork. A subscriber may be or represent a single user, or mayrepresent one or more users.

A “service provider” is any device or combination of devices thatprovides information via the network environment. Typically, a serviceprovider provides information delivery to terminal devices, and/orperforms network actions in response to requests from terminal devices.A service provider may also provide information delivery and/or networkactions on behalf of another service provider.

A “service request” is a communication to the network to cause thenetwork to perform one or more acts. Often, the service request involvesa request for the network to communicate information from or deliverinformation to a terminal device or service provider.

A “network element” is any one or more devices of a communicationnetwork, e.g. devices that participate at least occasionally in theoperation of the network.

Typically, a subscriber will enter into contractual arrangements with anetwork operator for access rights to the operator's network(s).Networks of this operator for which the subscriber has access rights arethe subscriber's “home networks.” Networks other than the home networksof the subscriber are “roaming networks.”

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a wireless networkenvironment. A base station controller (BSC) 104 network element iscoupled to an antennae 108, typically via a Base Transceiver Station(BTS, not shown). The network may comprise multiple BSCs, each coupledwith multiple BTSs and antennae. A single user may, at different times,access the network using a plurality of terminal devices, such as awireless telephone 133, a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA) 135,and a wireless automotive computer (a processor coupled to logic) withinan automobile 137. The antennae 108 may receive wireless signals fromeach of these devices.

Different terminal devices may employ different wireless technologies toaccess the network. For example, a wireless telephone or automotivecomputer may employ analog mobile phone service (AMPS), circuitswitching, packet switching, code division multiple access (CDMA), timedivision multiple access (TDMA), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM),spread-spectrum, global system for mobile communications (GSM),high-speed circuit-switched data (HCSD), general packet radio system(GPRS), enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE), and/or universal mobiletelecommunications service (UMTS). A PDA may employ wireless local areanetwork (WLAN) and/or Bluetooth technology (technology defined by theBluetooth Special Interest Group, such as but not limited to versions ofthe Bluetooth Core Specification and addendums and revisions thereof).

The BSC 104 is coupled to a mobile switching center (MSC) 116 networkelement that is responsible, among other things, for routing calls andcommunications to their appropriate destination. In GPRS networks, aServing GPRS Support Node (SGSN) may perform functions similar to thoseprovided by the MSC. Herein, the term “MSC” shall be used in referenceto a mobile switching center, a serving GPRS Support Node, or any deviceor combination of devices performing similar functions.

Other components included in a typical MSC 116, such as memory, routingcircuits, and various input/output devices, have been omitted forclarity of discussion. The MSC 116 is coupled to a terrestrial(non-wireless) communication network 114 to enable, among other things,communication with wired devices such as home and business telephones.The MSC 116 is coupled by way of the terrestrial communication network114 to a second wireless communication network comprising a second MSC126. Each network may comprise multiple MSCs.

A service provider 160 is coupled to MSC 116 to provide services such asstreaming video, multimedia messaging (for example, to help enable theMultimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, which provides for thecommunication of video and other advanced multimedia formats), and soon. A similar service provider 142 is coupled to MSC 126.

A Home Location Registry (HLR) 120 stores records (collections of data)for subscribers to the network comprising MSC 116. A second HLR 128performs a similar function for the network comprising MSC 126.

The access privileges of a service provider may be obtained by way ofpaid subscriptions (monthly fees, prepaid amounts, etc.) to the networkoperator. The access privileges may enable access to services availableby way of the network. For example, a subscriber of the networkcomprising MSC 116 may access the services of the service provider 160.In some embodiments, a subscriber may also have access privileges toservices of a roaming network. This may be accomplished in various ways,for example, by way of the subscription plan to the subscriber's homenetwork, or dynamically by way of a pay-as-you-go scheme. For example, asubscriber of the network comprising MSC 116 may access the services ofthe service provider 142 on a pay-as-you-go transaction basis.

When a device is roaming on the network (e.g. the user of the device issubscribed to a network other than the one that the device isaccessing), subscriber information for a user of the device may bestored in a Visitor Location Registry (VLR) 122. The network comprisingMSC 126 also comprises a VLR 110.

In another embodiment, the subscriber information may be stored by anetwork element such as a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) that is shared byone or more networks of the network environment.

An access control network element 144 controls access to the subscriberinformation stored by the HLR 120. The access control 144 ensures thatonly those network elements of the network environment which areauthorized to access the subscriber information may do so. In oneembodiment access control is provided according to an id/passwordscheme. The access control 144 is shown as a stand-alone network elementfor clarity of explanation. In practice, it may be a stand-alone deviceor functionally incorporated into one or more other network elements,such as the HLR 120.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless network wherein service requestsoriginate from terminal devices, users, and service providers. A servicerequest is a communication to the network to cause the network toperform one or more acts. A terminal device 133 may originate a terminalservice request (TSR), for example, in order to activate service so thatthe network recognizes and authorizes access by the terminal device 133.A user 141 of a terminal device 133 may originate a user service request(USR) in order to access a service (stock quotes, instant messaging,etc.) with the terminal device 133. A service provider 160 may originatea service provider service request (SSR) in order to access the servicesof another service provider. For example, in order to respond to arequest to communicate a message including a video clip, a serviceprovider to provide multi-media messaging may request the services of astreaming video provider.

Some common types of network service requests are subscriptionmanagement service requests, multimedia messaging service requests, andterminal management service requests. A subscription management (SM)service request pertains to creating, updating, and maintaining asubscriber's access privileges to the network. A multimedia messaging(MM) service request pertains to the communication of text, graphics,voice and non-voice audio, video, and other information types. Aterminal management (TM) service request pertains to errors involvingthe use and configuration of terminal devices.

Logic (e.g. software) may be communicated from the network to a memoryof a terminal device. The logic may operate to enable the terminaldevice to better receive a service of the network. For example, someservices such as instant messaging may include a “client” softwareapplication that operates on the terminal device in cooperation with theservice provider to enable instant messaging using the terminal device.Such software may not always operate properly on the terminal device,producing errors due to incompatible configuration of the terminaldevice, and resulting in a TM service request.

Service providers and network elements may act to alter theconfiguration of the terminal device in order to remove the errorcondition. Information about the terminal device's configuration andsettings may assist in this process and may be stored by the network ina terminal profile.

Information about a terminal device's configuration and settings mayalso enable the network operator to provide new services to the terminaldevice without involving the user in reconfiguration of the terminaldevice.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of subscriber,user, terminal, and service profiles. The subscriber profile comprisesinformation about a subscriber to a network. A user profile comprisesinformation about a user of the network. A terminal device profilecomprises information about a terminal device. A service profilecomprises information about a service available via the network.Information of each type of profiles may be stored in a device memory,such as a memory of an HLR or VLR, and/or in the memories of othernetwork elements.

In one embodiment, a subscriber profile 302 may comprise a subscriberid, payment parameters, service provision information, service deliveryinformation, billing and settlement information, access networkinformation, and security and access control information.

The subscriber id identifies a subscriber from among subscribers to thenetwork.

Payment parameters describe the manner and terms of payment. Examplesare monthly subscription charges, flat-fee arrangements, per-usearrangements, pre-paid amounts, and so on.

Service provision information describes a level or package of servicesavailable to the subscriber. Examples are premium, standard, and basic.

Service delivery information describes a level of service available tothe subscriber from the network. Examples include 100 Mbps (megabit persecond) service, and guaranteed information delivery.

Billing information describes how the subscriber is to be charged. Thisinformation may include the subscriber's billing address, credit ordebit card information, and/or account numbers.

Settlement information describes information about current charges tothe subscriber. Examples include information about the subscriber'scurrent charges, and due and past-due charges.

Access network information describes the manners of network access thesubscriber may employ. Examples include GPRS, 2G, 3G, and circuitswitching.

Security information describes how the subscriber may protectinformation communicated to or from the network. Examples are digitalsignature and encryption key information.

Access control information describes how the subscriber may accessinformation and/or acts available via the network. Examples include idand password information.

In one embodiment, a subscriber profile 302 may be associated with oneor more user profiles 304. For example, a subscriber may representmultiple users when the subscriber is a corporation, partnership orother legal entity. The profile of such a subscriber may be associatedwith multiple user profiles, each representing a user represented by thesubscriber. A subscriber profile 302 may also be associated with no userprofiles, as when the subscriber is a service provider. However, in somecases even when the subscriber is a service provider, a user profilerepresenting an operator of the service provider may be associated withthe subscriber profile 302.

In one embodiment, a user profile of the user profiles 304 may comprisea user id, media delivery preferences, presence information, usageinformation, demographic information, association information, andpersonalization information.

The user id identifies a user from among users of the network.

Media delivery preferences include information about the manner in whichinformation should be communicated to the user. Examples include framerate, color schemes, visual quality, and visual layout.

Usage information comprises information about the user's access to thenetwork environment, possibly including how, when, how often, and forwhat purpose the user accessed the network environment.

Usage information may include information about which services a useraccesses and/or how often, and/or the most recently used and/or mostfrequently accessed services. The usage information may also compriseinformation about trends and patterns in the user's usage behavior. Inone embodiment, this information or portions thereof is collected by theMSC 116 associated with the HLR 120. Where an HSS or other centralstorage location is employed by multiple networks, multiple MSCs maycontribute to collection and storage of the usage information forterminals and/or users, and access control may be provided according towhich MSC collected the information, and/or which MSC is comprised by ahome network for the user and/or terminal.

Personal information describes a user. Examples are the user's name andaddress, as well as a user's privacy information (such as restrictionson distribution of the user profile information).

Demographic information may be used to classify a user for statistical,marketing, or other purposes. Examples include the user's age, race, andgender.

Association information describes other users and/or subscribers thathave an association with the user. The association information may alsodescribe the nature of the association. Examples include associates,family members, and patrons.

Personalization information describes a user's preferred, most recent,and/or most frequent settings for services that the user may access.Examples include a user's preferred type of news information (sports,local events, etc.) and a user's most frequent and/or most recent searchqueries.

Security information describes how the user may protect informationcommunicated to or from the network. Examples are digital signature andencryption key information. In various embodiments the subscribersecurity information may be applied to protect the communications of theusers associated with the subscriber. Alternatively, or in addition, theuser security information may be applied to protect the communicationsof the users associated with the subscriber, independent of one another.

Access control information describes how the user may access informationand/or acts available via the network. Examples include id and passwordinformation. In various embodiments the subscriber access informationmay be applied to provide the users associated with the subscriberaccess to restricted information. Alternatively, or in addition, theuser access control information may be applied to provide the usersassociated with the subscriber independent access to the restrictedinformation.

Each user profile may have zero or more associated terminal profiles306. When the user represents an operator of a service provider, theremay be no associated terminal profile.

In one embodiment, a terminal profile may comprise a terminalidentifier, terminal capabilities, readiness information, presenceinformation, location information, terminal configuration information,terminal settings, and security and access control information.

The terminal identifier identifies the terminal from among terminalsthat access the network. Examples of such identifiers are the MobileIdentification Number (MIN), the Mobile Station Identifier (MSID),Mobile Station Number (MSN), and International Mobile Station Identifier(IMSI).

Terminal capabilities comprises information about the terminal device'scapabilities to receive, process, and display information. For example,terminal capabilities may comprise information about the terminalsgraphic display capabilities, communication bandwidth, and processorspeed.

Readiness information comprises information about the terminal device'sreadiness to receive information from the network, for example, if thedevice is ready, not ready, sleeping, on standby, and so on.

Presence information comprises information about whether or not the userof the terminal device is currently present to operate and/or receiveinformation via the terminal device. The readiness information and thepresence information together may establish whether the terminalequipment is ready to receive, process, and display information, andwhether the user of the terminal device is present to operate and/orreceive information via the terminal.

Location information comprises information about the location of thedevice. Such information may be useful in determining the type ofinformation to deliver, the quality and quantity of information todeliver, and so on. Location information may be ‘literal’, e.g. ageographic address or location, or ‘logical’, e.g. “In a Meeting”, “InTransit”, and so on.

Terminal configuration information may include information about theterminal device model, the version(s) of logic comprised by the terminaldevice (e.g. BIOS version, operating system version, etc.), the lastknow error to occur during the operation of the device, installedsoftware applications, and language settings, among other things.

Terminal settings may comprise information about how the BIOS, operatingsystem, installed software applications, and other components of theterminal device are configured to operate.

Security information describes how the terminal may protect informationcommunicated to or from the network. Examples are digital signature andencryption key information. In various embodiments the subscribersecurity information and/or the user security information may be appliedto protect the communications of the terminals associated with thesubscriber and user. Alternatively, or in addition, the terminalsecurity information may be applied to protect the communications of theterminals associated with a user independently of one another.

Access control information describes how the terminal may accessinformation and/or acts available via the network to which access iscontrolled. Examples include id and password information. In variousembodiments the subscriber access control information and/or user accesscontrol information may be applied to provide the terminals associatedwith a user access to restricted information. Alternatively, or inaddition, the terminal access control information may be applied toprovide the terminals associated with a user independent access torestricted information.

Each subscriber profile 302 may be associated with zero or more serviceprofiles 308. Each service profile may comprise information about aservice that is available to the subscriber. In one embodiment, eachservice profile comprises a service identifier, a service type, aservice description, service requirements, performance requirements,quality of service information, network resource requirementinformation, network resource allowance information, and security andaccess control information.

The service identifier identifies the service from among servicesavailable via the network.

The service type identifies the type of service, e.g. business,consumer, entertainment, etc.

The service description describes the service, such as “Real-Time StockQuotes”.

Service requirements describe requirements for the service to beproperly provided. For example, service requirements may includeinformation about the graphics, processor, memory, communications,payment capacity, and other requirements that a terminal device, and/oruser, and/or subscriber should meet in order for the service to beprovided. The service requirement information may be organized accordingto categories, such as graphics, processor, memory, and communications.Of course these are merely examples of possible categories. Thecategories may be defined to correspond with the categories of theterminal capabilities. For example, the graphics category may compriseinformation about the graphics requirements to properly render theservice information, information such as the display size, graphicsprocessor, and colors that a terminal should employ to properly renderthe service information to the user. The processor category may compriseinformation about the processing capabilities that need be employed bythe terminal device to properly receive and render the service (e.g.processor speed). The memory category may comprise information about thememory requirements to properly receive and render the service on aterminal device (e.g. minimum available memory, memory speed). Thecommunication category may comprise information about the communicationrequirements to properly receive and render the service on a terminaldevice (e.g. bandwidth, codec).

Upon receiving a service request from a terminal device, the network mayattempt to match corresponding categories of the terminal capabilitiesand service requirements to identify services that are compatible withthe terminal.

Information of a payment requirements category of the servicerequirements may be compared with the payment parameters of thesubscriber profile 302 to identify services that are within thesubscriber's payment parameters.

Information of the user preference category of the service requirementsmay be compared with the media delivery preferences and/orpersonalization information of the user profile to identify servicesthat can be delivered according to the user's preferences.

In one embodiment, the service requirements information may compriseinformation about the network actions to carry out in order to respondto a service request. The service requirement information may alsocomprise information about the pre-requisites to providing the service(e.g. non time-critical actions and/or settings to take place beforeperforming the time-critical acts of responding to the service request).The service requirement information may also comprise information aboutthe post-requisites of providing the service (e.g. non time-criticalactions and/or settings to take place after performing the time-criticalacts of responding to the service request).

When a service request is received, action information for the requestedservice may be accessed and compared with actions that are currentlybeing performed by the network, and/or that are scheduled to beperformed by the network. Those actions that are scheduled/under way andthat are in common with the requested service may be referred to as“common actions.”

Likewise, network resource requirement information for the requestedservice may be accessed and compared with network resources that arecurrently allocated by the network, and/or that are scheduled to beallocated by the network. Those resource requirements that areallocated/scheduled and that are in common with the requested servicemay be referred to as “common resources.”

Quality of service information describes the quality of service that theservice requires from the network.

Network resource requirement information describes the network resourcesthat need be allocated in order to carry out the actions of the service.For example, the network resource requirement information may comprisebandwidth and memory allocation requirements. Network resourcerequirements may also include a relay server address and WAP gatewayinformation, among other things.

The network allowance information describes the network resourcesactually made available to carry out the actions of the service. Forexample, a streaming video service may require 10 Mbps of networkbandwidth to deliver streaming video to terminal devices. However only 1Mbps of bandwidth may be allowed.

Security information describes how the information of the service isprotected during communication over the network. Examples are digitalsignature and encryption key information.

Access control information describes how the service provider may accessinformation and/or acts available via the network to which access iscontrolled. Examples include id and password information.

“Profile information” refers to all or portions of the subscriber, user,terminal, and service profiles. The profile information may becommunicated from the home network to other networks. The profileinformation may be communicated in accordance with local and nationalprivacy regulations.

The profile information may be employed by service providers and/ornetwork elements of the network environment to determine the appropriateframe rate, frame size, compression ratio, quality of service, and so onfor information delivery to terminal devices.

The profile information, such as the terminal capabilities, presenceinformation, location information, and readiness information, may beupdated dynamically as circumstances change. For example, if the userchanges terminals after coming home from work, new terminalcapabilities, readiness information, presence information, and locationinformation for the user may be provided from the terminal to thenetwork and stored. Terminal devices, service providers, networkelements, and network operators are just some of the sources from whichupdates to the profile information may be derived.

In one embodiment, an attempt is made to access a service of a roamingnetwork. A request to access the profile information associated with thesubscriber, user, terminal device, or service provider that originatedthe request is communicated from the roaming network to the homenetwork. The source of the service request is ascertained. The accesscontrol 144 of the home network determines if the request source isauthorized to access the profile information. For example, the serviceprovider 142 may request to access the terminal profile for the wirelesstelephone 133 when the wireless telephone 133 attempts to access thenetwork comprising MSC 126. When the source of the request isauthorized, all or portions of the profile information may becommunicated from the HLR 120 of the home network to the VLR 110 orother storage location of the roaming network. The profile informationmay be transferred also or alternatively to the source of the servicerequest.

The network may store and maintain a “network profile” comprisinginformation about currently available network resources, expected short-and long-term demand for network resources, and currently allocatednetwork resources, among other things. In one embodiment the networkprofile is stored by the HLR 120.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of responding to aservice request. At 402 a service request is received. The servicerequest includes an identifier of the originator of the service request,e.g. a subscriber, a terminal device, a user, or a service provider. Theservice request may also include a service identifier. Profileinformation corresponding to the originating entity is identified in404. At 406 it is verified that the source of the request is authorizedto access the service. At 408 a service provider to respond to theservice request, and media delivery parameters, network resources toallocate, and so on are selected according to the profile information ofthe source of the request.

Corresponding categories of the terminal capabilities, media deliverypreferences, and service requirements may be compared to identifyservices compatible with the requesting user and/or terminal.

Information of the service requirements may be compared with the paymentparameters of the profile information to identify services that arewithin the user's and/or subscriber's payment parameters.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method to provide profileinformation to a roaming network and/or service provider thereof. At 502a roaming network is accessed. At 504 a subscriber, user, and/orterminal identification is provided to the roaming network. Theidentifier may be provided as part of a service request. For example, aterminal identifier may be provided as part of a request by a terminaldevice to access a roaming network. At 506 the roaming network (e.g. anetwork element of the roaming network) and/or service provider thereofrequests from the home network of the terminal, user, or subscriberprofile information corresponding to the identification. Typically thiswill involve providing the identification to the home network, alongwith the request for at least part of the profile information. In oneembodiment, access credentials (e.g. identification and password) forthe profile information are provided along with the request. In anotherembodiment, the access credentials may be provided separately from therequest. At 508 the home network verifies that the requesting networkelement and/or service provider is authorized to access the requestedprofile information, and provides the requested profile information. Theroaming network stores the profile information at 510. For example, theroaming network may store the profile information in the in the roamingnetwork's VLR.

In one embodiment, roaming network operators and/or service providersthereof may purchase subscriptions from or provide other compensation tothe operator of the home network, in order to receive authorization toaccess the profile information of subscribers, users and/or terminals ofthe home network. Access may be limited to portions of the profileinformation. For example, some service providers may have access limitedto terminal capabilities and media delivery preferences, sufficient todetermine whether the service provider can provide adequate service tothe user's terminal device. Other service providers may purchasesubscriptions that provide access to usage information, such as thoseservices most frequently and most recently used by the user. Thisinformation may prove useful for marketing purposes. The level ofcompensation for access may be set according to which of the profileinformation is made available for access. Of course, subscriptions areonly one possible manner of compensating for access to the profileinformation. Other manners of compensation include transaction charges(pay-per use), charging a percentage of the service price, and so on.

Network elements and/or service providers may interact to exchangeprofile information in order to cooperatively improve service.

Templates may be created for types of terminals, users, subscribers,and/or services. Examples of types of terminal devices for which profiletemplates may be created include mobile phones, set-top boxes, andpersonal computers. Examples of types of users and/or subscribers forwhich templates may be created include business, consumer, and family.In one embodiment, the data fields of the templates and therelationships among the data fields may be defined according to the XMLstandard.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of a method to respond to a service request.At 602 the service request is typed, e.g. classified as pertaining to aparticular class of service requests, such as terminal management,multimedia messaging, and subscription management. Based on the type,and on profile information of the source of the service request, atemplate for carrying out the service request is created at 604. Thistemplate may include network resource requirements, media deliveryparameters, payment preferences, usage information, and so on from theprofile information of the source of the request. Acts common to theresponse to the service request and ongoing and/or scheduled acts of thenetwork are identified at 606. At 607 the acts of the service requestare carried out according to the template, and fields of the templateare valued accordingly. For example, the usage information in thetemplate may be updated to reflect the use of the service. At 608profile information for the source of the service request is updatedaccording to the fields of the template. At 610 the updated profileinformation is communicated to network elements and service providers ofone or both of the home and roaming networks. Updates to the profileinformation are stored at 612.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a network embodiment. The MSC 116 comprisesat least one input 1016 to receive communications from one or moreterminal devices 133. The MSC 116 may also receive communications fromone or more other network elements 702 and/or service providers 160, viainput 716 and/or other inputs. A processor 714 and logic 712 may operatecooperatively to form a classifier of the communications received fromthe terminal device(s) 133, service providers 160, and other networkelements 702. In other embodiments, the classifier may be a separatenetwork element that interfaces with the MSC 116 to monitor and classifycommunications.

The communication may be classified as a type of service request, e.g.terminal management, multimedia messaging, and subscription management.A router 710 may be employed to route the communications to one or moreof a plurality of subnetworks (one or more network elements) 704, 706,708, according to the classification. The subnetworks may operate toidentify the source of the service request and to access relevantprofile information of the source to carry out the service request.

The logic 712 and processor 714 may further operate on thecommunications to determine network usage information for terminaldevices and/or users thereof, including a service usage history, a mostrecently used service, and a most frequently used service. Thisinformation may be routed to the appropriate subnetwork for updating ofthe profile information.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a network embodiment comprising distributedstorage of profile information. A terminal 133 of a first subscriber ofthe network accesses the network via BSC 108 and MSC 116. A terminal 134of a subscriber of a roaming network also accesses the network via BSC108 and MSC 116. A terminal 163 of a second subscriber of the networkaccesses the network via BSC 166 and MSC 162.

The HLR stores, manages, and provides access control to profileinformation 171, 172 for all subscribers (including user and terminalprofile information therefore) for which the network is the homenetwork, e.g. the subscribers associated with terminals 133, 163.

The VLR stores profile information 173 for all parties (including userand terminal profile information therefore) that are presently roamingon the network, e.g. the subscriber associated with terminal 134.

The MSC 116 stores copies of profile information 172, 173 for thoseparties (including user and terminal profile information therefore) thataccess the network via the MSC 116, e.g. subscribers associated withterminals 134, 136. These parties may include subscribers of the networkand subscribers of a roaming network.

The MSC 162 stores copies of profile information 171 for those parties(including user and terminal profile information therefore) that accessthe network via the MSC 162, e.g. the subscriber associated withterminal 163. These parties may include subscribers of the network andsubscribers of a roaming network.

In another embodiment, the BSC 104 may store copies of profileinformation 172, 173 for those parties (including user and terminalprofile information therefore) that access the network via the BSC 104,e.g. subscribers associated with terminals 134, 136. Likewise, the BSC166 may store copies of profile information 171 for those parties(including user and terminal profile information therefore) that accessthe network via the BSC 166, e.g. subscribers associated with terminals163.

Copies of the profile information stored by the MSCs and/or BSCs may bemore up-to-date than the copies stored by the HLR 120 and VLR 122. Forexample, the copy of profile information stored by an MSC may includeupdated usage statistics for the subscriber; the copy of profileinformation stored by a BSC may include updated terminal capabilitiesfor the terminal of the subscriber.

The HLR 120 comprises logic 180 to create a “logical database” from thecurrent copies of profile information distributed throughout thenetwork. The logic 180 may operate such that updated copies of profileinformation from throughout the network appears, for the purposes ofqueries and other database functions, stored together in a centrallocation.

Updates to copies of the profile information may be propagated back tothe HLR 120. The updates may be communicated back to the HLR 120 andstored once the subscriber is no longer accessing the network via aparticular MSC and/or BSC. For example, when a subscriber first accessesthe network via MSC 116, the MSC 116 may retrieve a copy of thesubscriber's profile information from the HLR 120. The MSC 116 mayupdate the usage statistics of the profile information to reflect thesubscriber's network activity while accessing the network via the MSC116. The subscriber may then move to a geographic location whereinaccess to the network is provided via BSC 166 and MSC 162. As aconsequence the MSC 116 may communicate the updates to the profileinformation to the HLR 120; the HLR 120 may store the updates into thecopy of the profile information stored by the HLR 120. The MSC 162 maythen retrieve from the HLR 120 the updated profile information for thesubscriber. Logic of the MSCs and the HLR may-operate to enable theseinteractions.

In another embodiment, the MSC 162 may retrieve the updated profileinformation directly from the MSC 116. Updates to the profileinformation are eventually communicated back to the HLR 120 either atthe elapse of a period of time, or when the subscriber no longeraccesses the network, or at some other predetermined event. Once again,logic of the MSCs and the HLR may operate to enable these interactions.

Distributing the profile information among the network elements providesload balancing for updates to the profile information. Each update neednot pass through a central location (for example, the HLR 120) at thetime the update occurs. Rather, updates may be made on copies of theprofile information by the network element that detects the update.Furthermore, network elements that request the profile information maybe authenticated and authorized (for example by access control 144) andmay then receive the most recent profile information from the networkelement(s) comprising the updated copies. The updates may later becommunicated to a central location such as the HLR 120. The most recentprofile information may be made available to queries and other databasefunctions by employing logic of the HLR or other network element tocreate a “logical database” from the distributed profile information.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method to respond to aservice request. A service request is received at 902 and associatedwith a subscriber id at 904. For example, a terminal, user, or other idcomprised by the service request may be employed to identify acorresponding subscriber. The subscriber profile corresponding to thesubscriber id is located at 906. At 908 it is verified that therequested service is available under the subscriber's subscription plan.If not, the service request may be denied, or the subscriber may beprompted to subscribe to the service.

A service profile for the requested service is located at 910. At 912the service requirements from the service profile are compared withavailable network resources from the network profile. If the servicerequirements are not available in the network (914), new, lessresource-demanding service requirements may be determined 916, forexample by negotiation with the service provider. If determining newservice requirements proves unsuccessful, the method concludes. If theservice requirements are available in the network (914), or if newservice requirements are determined at 916 that can be met, then at 918network resources are allocated and configured to respond to the servicerequest.

At 920 the terminal device is configured to receive the response to theservice request. Configuration of the terminal device may involveaccessing the terminal profile to ascertain settings and configurationoptions for the terminal device.

In one embodiment, the MSC receives the service request, associates asubscriber id with the service request, accesses the subscriber profilevia the HLR to determine whether the subscriber is authorized to accessthe requested service, and receives the service profile from the HLR andallocates and configures network resources accordingly. Alternatively,the HLR may access the service profile and allocate and configurenetwork resources accordingly. Logic of the MSC and/or HLR may operateto enable these actions.

Factors in determining the network resource requirements to respond to aservice request may include the service requirements for the servicedelivery information and service provision information of thesubscriber, and the subscriber's media delivery preferences.

In one embodiment a network element such as the HLR may identify othernetwork elements, such as an MSC, to carry out the response to theservice request. The identified network elements may then allocate andconfigure internal resources to carry out the response to the servicerequest. An identified network element may provide an indication that itdoes not have the resources to carry out the response to the servicerequest, in which case an alternative network element may be selected.Logic of the HLR and/or network element(s) may operate to enable theseactions.

In one embodiment, information of the service requirements may also beprovided to the terminal device to receive the service. The terminaldevice may employ the service requirement information to configureitself to properly receive the service information. Alternatively, theMSC or other network elements may employ the terminal information toconfigure the terminal to receive the service information. If theterminal capabilities do not permit the terminal to properly receive theservice, an alternative may be found (for example, renegotiating thequality of service delivery, scheduling service delivery to a differentterminal at a later time, and so on). Logic of the MSC may operate toenable these actions.

While certain features of the invention have been illustrated asdescribed herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes andequivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefor,to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchembodiments and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.In the claims, references to “a” or “an” element do not limit the claimsto a single one of the element, but instead indicate one or more of theelement, unless otherwise indicated.

1. A method comprising: storing profile information at a mobileswitching center, wherein the profile information at the mobileswitching center is up-to-date, the profile information furtherincluding at least a portion of a subscriber profile of a subscriber, aterminal profile of a terminal device used by the subscriber, and ausage profile for the subscriber; periodically updating a home locationregister with the profile information from the mobile switching center;accessing the profile information of the subscriber from the homelocation register to identify services to which the subscriber hasaccess, the profile information dynamically updated as necessary by themobile switching center; generating a template based upon the profileinformation; verifying that the subscriber is authorized to access arequested service; comparing requirements for delivering the servicewith available network resources; and when sufficient network resourcesare available to deliver the service, modifying the template tocorrespond to available network resources, and updating the profileinformation to allocate network resources in accordance with thetemplate.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: when sufficientnetwork resources are not available to deliver the service, determininga less resource demanding manner of delivering the service.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: configuring a terminal device toreceive the service, in accordance with the service requirements.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising: identifying a service provider toprovide the requested service; and identifying network elements havingsufficient resources available to provide the service.
 5. A methodcomprising: storing profile information at a mobile switching center,wherein the profile information at the mobile switching center isup-to-date, the profile information further including at least a portionof a subscriber profile of a subscriber, a terminal profile of aterminal device used by the subscriber, and a usage profile for thesubscriber; periodically updating a home location register with theprofile information from the mobile switching center; receiving aservice request; associating a subscriber id with the service request;accessing the profile information from the home location register forthe source of the service request, the profile information dynamicallyupdated as necessary by the mobile switching center; generating atemplate based upon the profile information; and allocating networkresources according to the template and the profile information of theservice requested.
 6. A network element on a network, comprising: a homelocation register to store profile information for a user of thenetwork, the profile information further including at least a portion ofa subscriber profile of a subscriber, a terminal profile of a terminaldevice used by the subscriber, a usage profile for the subscriber, and aservice profile, the home location register in communication with amobile switching center which stores up-to-date profile information andperiodically updates the home location register; a router on the networkto route communications between the user of the network, the homelocation register, and the mobile switching center; and logic on amemory in communication with the home location register to access aservice profile in response to a service request, to generate a templatebased in part upon the profile information, and to allocate networkresources to fulfill the service request according to servicerequirements associated with the template.
 7. The network element ofclaim 6 further comprising: logic on the memory to negotiate a lessresource demanding manner of delivering the service when sufficientnetwork resources are unavailable to deliver the service.
 8. The networkelement of claim 6 further comprising: logic on the memory to configurea terminal device to receive the service, in accordance with the servicerequirements.